Harwich to Pin Mill 12/04/09

HW Pin Mill 15.30

I started at Harwich Beach (public slip) at 13.00 approx. After 30 mins I had paddled across the deep water channel to Shotley Gate / Marina. On the way over a RHIB slowed so as not to catch me in it's wake. Very courteous I thought, but, at a second look I thought I recognised the local RNLI engineer. I pretended not to notice so as to avoid comments later in the day at my local. In the event it turned out to be someone else. I stopped at the beach adjunct to Shotley Marina to take off my cag, sup a quick coffee and call in an ETA. The thing about Shotley Beach is the view of the container ships. They are massive. I have a great desire not to be near them when they are under way or turning. Of course on this piece of water it is eyes everywhere for the various ferries that leave Parkeston Quay, a couple of miles into the Stour estuary, the ferry, the Alert (Survey), the fishing boats, the yachties and of course the ubiquitous gin palaces, who only seem to slow to the speed limit, 6knots, on the approach of sailing (or paddled) vessels.

Departing Shotley I had estimated 1 1/2 hours for the 8k paddle. The tide was running full and the onshore wind (Easterly) gave me good assistance. I kept inshore of the port channel marks all the way up the river easily keeping pace with the yachts resisting the use of their engines until all hope was lost to them.

About 3k into the river the mooring buoys started their long line up to Ipswich. A Thames barge had cruised past whilst I was on the beach at Shotley and with the pace I was making I felt sure I would see her again. Alas, she had gone. There is a race for these craft at least once a year in the Summer and they often lie at Pin Mill, but not today.

My route from Shotley was basically a dog leg and despite steep sand and stone beaches the Orwell has it's fair share of mud and sand banks, as is common with the Essex and Suffolk coast. I used the withies and older deepwater marks as my pointers and forgot the bearings I had taken as the weather improved and the sun shone. Vis. was a little hazy but it seems to have been like that for a few weeks now. I take a look over Pennyhole Bay usually twice a day and even the tower at Walton on the Naze has been obscurred more often than not , both morning and evening.

So I aimed at the point keeping No2 and Collimer on the starboard side. Rounding the headland the Orwell Bridge hove into view after about 15 minutes and I made out the moorings and houseboats in the hazy distance, surrounding Pin Mill. I tagged a blue cruiser making broad tacks across the water and passed her bow on her third tack. She had screaming teenagers in the tender being towed.

The prospect of a pint and lunch at the Butt and Oyster spurred me on. It seemed like every yacht moored here had someone on it; making repairs, reading or just taking in the sun. At the Mill there are houseboats, presumably permantly inhabited, but there are also some crumbling into the water. A concrete hard runs out into the river about 250 metres and all manner of craft lie on the mud flat. Next to the hard there is a channel, fed by the mill stream, just big enough for a kayak or dinghy. Today there were two launch cradles lying in the mud and children were using them for swings watched by a fellow in a tender who gave way as I approached the pub. My rendevous was waiting purse in hand to order lunch and drinks while I collared the dog and put my kit up on the green. The tide was over the hard and washing the road.

I felt quite pleased with myself; Shotley Gate to Pin Mill in an hour.

After lunch I got ready to paddle back. The weather had turned a little and I felt a little bloated from my meal so I decided to finish at Shotley Gate. There is ample parking at the marina and I couldn't have faced a capsize and/or rescue in the combined outgoing streams of the Stour and Orwell in front of the Harwich lifeboat crew and the 'grockles' enjoying yet another remeniss of the 'good ol' pirate radio days'. Every now and again they draw one of the lightships up to the Halfpenny Pier at Harwich and blare out tunes from the sixties. Plus I thought that engineer Dave might still be lurking about in the RHIB.

A finish at Shotley turned out to be a good choice. The tide, near to top Spring was whisking me along and I completed my journey back in a little over 1 hr 10. The wind was against me and the sea had taken on that greyish unattractive hue.

As I carried my boat through the marina an ex serviceman stopped , 'What kind of kayak is it?', he asked.
' A copy of an East Greenland boat,' I replied.
'It looks just like an 'angmagssalik' to me'. Excellent, someone who recognised the style of boat and had paddled the stitch and glue kit boat of the sixties and seventies as I had done. We spent ten minutes discussing the boat, and I told him about the current sea kayaking scene, as far as I could. A rewarding end to a rewarding paddle.

Tim
Edited; 19/4/09